Side and Back-Up Collision Prevention

Nissan already has systems available to prevent a car from drifting out of a lane or getting too close to a car in front, but in Yokohama it unveiled a system to prevent side collisions when pulling out to overtake.

Initially, it works like many existing lane departure warning systems already on sale, with a light showing up inside the car beside the door mirror when another vehicle enters your blindspot.

However, if you don't notice the warning light and continue to move across, another control kicks in, applying the brakes to the relevant wheels via the stability control system and inducing a slight yaw movement on the car.

It serves to gently pull the car back into its lane and, although that sounds rather scary, it is in fact undramatic and easy to over-ride if, for instance, you are taking evasive action and need to pull across lanes in a hurry.

Nissan also revealed a system called Back-up Collision Prevention (BCP), although this wasn't available to try. It works much like traditional parking sensors, but with a longer and wider range.

It is intended for use while reversing, for instance while in a car park, and will detect approaching cars or obstacles, making an alarm sound initially and then applying the brakes if the obstacle gets too close.

No on-sale date has been released for the systems.